Development funds.

IN another time and place, the decision by Prime Minister Imran Khan to hand out half a billion rupees in development funds to each federal and provincial lawmaker of his party for carrying out schemes in their respective constituencies may not have attracted much public attention. However, considering the PTI's previous stance on the issue, the move was bound to raise many an eyebrow. It was but natural that this 'development incentive' would be widely viewed as an attempt by the ruling PTI to keep intact its 'vote bank' in the face of growing complaints within the party, especially in Punjab, against the government for ignoring the needs of the legislators to 'serve their constituents'. There is also a view that the decision was made because the ruling party was not very confident it could get the secret ballot replaced with a show of hands as the mode of voting in the Senate elections scheduled for March either through a constitutional amendment or a Supreme Court injunction.

It is common knowledge that successive governments in Pakistan have used development funds to keep members of the national and provincial assemblies happy and buy the allegiance of opposition lawmakers when needed. Also, strong evidence exists that rulers frequently distribute taxpayers' money among their legislators ahead of the elections to win over...